Colour and stability of the six common anthocyanidin 3-glucosides in aqueous solutions

Food Chemistry 68 (2000) 101±107 Analytical, Nutritional and Clinical Methods Section Colour and stability of the six common anthocyanidin 3-glucosides in aqueous solutions Luis Cabrita, Torgils Fossen, éyvind M. Andersen* Department of Chemistry, University of Bergen, AlleÂgt. 41, 5007 Bergen, Norway Received 17 May 1999; accepted 3 June 1999 www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem Abstract This study on anthocyanin stability and colour variation (l max, ") in the ph range 1±12 during a period of 60 days storage at 10 and 23 C, was conducted on the 3-glucosides of the six common anthocyanidins. It was mostly in the alkaline region that di erences in colour and stability became signi cant. Although it has been generally accepted that anthocyanins are stable only at low ph values, this study revealed that, for some of the anthocyanin 3-glucosides (e.g. malvidin 3-glucoside), the bluish colours were rather intense and stability relatively high in the alkaline region. Thus, they can be regarded as potential colorants for some slightly alkaline food products. # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The anthocyanins form the red and blue colours of most fruits and vegetables and provide, therefore, the attractive colours of many fruit juices, wines, jams and preserves. There is worldwide interest in additional use of anthocyanins as a consequence of perceived consumer preferences as well as legislative action, which has continued the delisting of approved arti cial dyes. Nevertheless, the anthocyanin colours are easily a ected by a number of factors (Brouillard, 1988; Francis, 1989; Fossen, Cabrita & Andersen, 1998). The aim of this paper is to describe the colour and stability changes of the six common anthocyanidin 3- monoglucosides in aqueous solutions at di erent ph values and during storage at two di erent temperatures. In a recent paper, similar parameters were described for cyanidin 3-O-b-glucoside and petunidin 3-[6-O-(4-pcoumaroyl-a-rhamnosyl)-b-glucoside]-5-O-b-glucoside (Fossen et al., 1998). In general, fruits contain simpler anthocyanins than owers, and most of these anthocyanins are without acylation (Andersen, 1999). Thus, the colour behaviour of the six anthocyanidin 3-glucosides examined in this study may represent the majority of the anthocyanins isolated from fruits, as for instance identi ed in chokeberries (Aronia spp.), strawberries * Corresponding author. Tel.: +47-55-583460; fax: +47-55-589490. E-mail address: oyvind.andersen@kj.uib.no (é.m. Andersen) (Fragaria spp.), apples (Malus spp.), cherries and plums (Prunus spp.), currants (Ribes spp.), raspberries and blackberries (Rubus spp.), elderberries (Sambucus spp.), cranberries and blueberries (Vaccinium spp.), etc. (Mazza & Miniati, 1993). 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Anthocyanin sources Pigments were obtained from the following sources: strawberry (Fragaria ananassa: pelargonidin 3-glucoside, pg3glc); rice (Oriza sativa: cyanidin and peonidin 3-glucosides, cy3glc and pn3glc); Abies koreana (delphinidin and petunidin 3-glucosides, dp3glc and pt3glc); blueberries (Vaccinium spp.: malvidin 3-glucoside, mv3glc). 2.2. Pigment isolation The plant materials were extracted with 0.2% HCl in MeOH at 4 C, and the extracts were concentrated under reduced pressure. The crude extracts were partitioned against hexane and ethyl acetate, and washed on a XAD-7 Amberlite column. Pigments were puri ed by DCCC (Droplet Counter-Current Chromatography) using BAW (4:1:5) upper and lower phases as stationary and mobile phases, respectively, and size-exclusion 0308-8146/99/$ - see front matter # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S0308-8146(99)00170-3

102 L. Cabrita et al. / Food Chemistry 68 (2000) 101±107 chromatography (Sephadex LH-20 column, 100 1.6 cm, Pharmacia) using H 2 O-MeOH-HCl (60:40:0.05,v/v) as eluent. Some pigments were further puri ed by semipreparative RP-HPLC (reversed-phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography) using a gradient elution system consisting of solvents A: water±formic acid (9:1) and B: water±formic acid±methanol (4:1:5) (Cabrita & Andersen, in press). The ow-rate was 5 ml/min. Pigment identity was con rmed by proton and carbon NMR spectroscopy. 2.3. Bu er solutions Bu er solutions of 17 di erent ph values were prepared in accordance with Table 1. The accurate ph values for each bu er solution were measured with a HANNA HI 9224 portable ph Meter equipped with a HI 1230B Combination ph Electrode and a HI 7669/ 2W Temperature Probe. The spectral behaviour of anthocyanins is dependent on solvent, and substances present in the solutions may in uence the colour and stability. 2.4. Measurements of colour and stability The colour stability of the pure anthocyanin 3-glucosides was determined at 10 and 23 C, respectively. The chloride salts of the isolated pigments were dissolved in methanol containing 0.05% conc. HCl to make stock solutions with concentration 0.5 mg/ml, and 2 ml aliquots of these solutions were transferred to sample tubes, evaporated to dryness and dissolved in 20 ml of each of the 17 di erent bu er solutions (Table 1) to give a nal pigment concentration of 0.05 mg/ml. Each anthocyanin bu er solution was divided into two 10 ml portions which were stored at 10 and 23 C, respectively. The sample tubes were sealed with para lm, and the pigments were stored under air atmosphere. UV/Vis spectra were recorded between 240 and 700 nm on a VARIAN CARY3 UV±Visible Spectrophotometer equipped with a 386 ACER 1120SX computer unit. Pure bu ers were used as reference cell solutions. UV/ Vis measurements were made 1h after dissolution and then after 1, 2, 5, 8, 15 and 60 days. The colour intensities were measured as absorbance values at l vis-max for each individual pigment at each ph value and expressed as molar absorptivity (", inm 1 cm 1 ). Colour stability was expressed as the percentage of absorbance remaining after a certain time interval, measured at l vis-max for individual pigments at each ph value. 3. Results and discussion 3.1. Colour variation of anthocyanin 3-glucosides at ph 1±12 By plotting the l vis-max values (Table 2) obtained for the six common anthocyanidin 3-glucosides (Fig. 1) 1 h after dissolution in aqueous solutions at di erent ph values, a distinct pattern was achieved. The anthocyanins could be placed into two groups based on their curve shapes. Group 1, which consisted of the 3-glucosides of pelargonidin, peonidin and malvidin, was described by parallel curves showing gradual bathochromic shifts up to ph 6 (Fig. 2). In the ph region 6.0 to 7.6 the bathochromic shifts increased markedly, but the bluish colours would not further change above ph 8. Group 2, which contained the 3-glucosides of cyanidin, petunidin and delphinidin, revealed similar curves as members of Table 1 Solvent proportions (v/v) used to prepare 17 di erent bu er solutions in the ph region 1±12 ph KCl KH phthalate KH 2 PO 4 BORAX Na 2 HPO 4 HCl HCl NaOH 0.2 M 0.1 M 0.1 M 0.025 M 0.05 M 0.02 M 0.1 M 0.1 M 1.0 25 67 2.4 50 42.2 3.1 50 18.8 4.0 50 0.1 5.0 50 22.6 6.0 50 5.6 6.5 50 13.9 7.0 50 29.1 7.3 50 37.0 7.7 50 43.5 8.1 50 46.1 8.6 50 13.5 9.0 50 4.6 9.5 50 8.8 9.8 50 15.0 10.6 50 23.3 11.5 50 11.1

Table 2 Visible l max values in nm for chloride salts of the six common anthocyanidin 3-glucosides (1.010 4 M) one hour after dissolution in buffered aqueous solutions at di erent ph values and room temperature ph Pg3glc Cy3glc Pn3glc Dp3glc Pt3glc Mv3glc 1.0 498 510 510 514 515 517 2.4 501 512 516 521 521 252 3.1 504 517 518 525 525 528 4.0 507 520 522 528 529 533 5.0 515 523 527 530 531 535 6.0 519 528 532 558 565 537 6.5 525 539 537 567 569 559 7.0 540 554 554 576 584 576 7.3 547 562 568 574 589 586 7.7 551 571 571 577 590 593 8.1 553 570 574 574 588 594 8.6 553 539 571 542 543 595 9.0 555 540 573 547 542 596 9.5 554 542 573 552 543 597 9.8 553 541 573 546 598 10.6 554 569 575 595 11.5 588 L. Cabrita et al. / Food Chemistry 68 (2000) 101±107 103 Fig. 2. Visible absorption maxima (l vis-max, nm) at di erent ph values, for the chloride salts of the six common anthocyanidin 3-glucosides (1.0 10 4 M) 1 h after dissolution in bu ered aqueous solutions at room temperature. and petunidin, the same bathochromic shift trend is shown from ph 1.0 to 8.1 with increasing number of hydroxyl and/or methoxyl groups in the B-ring. Thus, the hydroxyl and methoxyl groups on the anthocyanidin B-ring seem to have similar e ects on the chromophores of the bluish equilibrium forms, as previously reported for anthocyanins when occurring in their avylium forms (Brouillard, 1988). Fig. 1. Structure of the six most common anthocyanidin 3-monoglucosides. Group 1 in the ph region 1.0 to 8.1 (Fig. 2). However, all members of this latter group showed dramatic hypsochromic shifts going from ph 8.1 to 8.6. It is well known that an increase in the number of oxygen substituents (hydroxyl or methoxyl) on the anthocyanidin B-ring causes bathochromic shifts at relatively acid ph values (Harborne, 1993; Torskangerpoll, Bùrve, Andersen & Sñthre, 1998). Fig. 2 shows that the same tendency occurs at all ph values for the 3- glucosides of pelargonidin, peonidin and malvidin with increasing numbers of methoxyl groups on the aglycone B-ring. For the 3-glucosides of cyanidin, delphinidin 3.2. Colour intensity of anthocyanin 3-glucosides at ph 1±12 The ph variation a ects the colour intensities of the six anthocyanidin 3-glucosides considerably (Table 3). The absorptivities were highest at ph 1 for all pigments and decreased toward ph 5. The similarity between the curves in this ph region (Fig. 3) indicates that all the examined anthocyanins have the same type and distribution of equilibrium forms: the colourful avylium form dominates at ph 1, and the occurrence of colourless carbinol pseudo-base forms increases toward ph 5 (Brouillard, 1988). At ph values above 6, anthocyanins show a hyperchromic e ect until local maxima are achieved at ph 8.1±9.8, when anthocyanins are expected

104 L. Cabrita et al. / Food Chemistry 68 (2000) 101±107 to occur mainly in their quinonoidal and quinonoidal anion forms. Fig. 3 reveals di erent behaviour for the individual anthocyanins around neutrality and especially in alkaline solutions. The ratio between the absorptivity at the local maximum in the alkaline region and at ph 1 for the 3-glucosides of pelargonidin, cyanidin, delphinidin and petunidin are found between 0.60 and 0.66. The ratios for peonidin 3-glucoside and malvidin 3-glucoside were 0.82 and 0.94, respectively, indicating that a B-ring substitution pattern which includes no hydroxyl groups in ortho-positions to each other and one or more methoxyl groups, is favourable for colour intensity in the alkaline region. However a comparison between the molar absorptivities of petanin, petunidin 3-[6-O-(4-pcoumaroyl-a-rhamnosyl)-b-glucoside]-5-O-b-glucoside Table 3 Molar absorptivities for the chloride salts of the six common anthocyanidin 3-glucosides (1.010 4 M) 1 h after dissolution in bu ered aqueous solutions at di erent ph values and room temperature ph Pg3glc Cy3glc Pn3glc Dp3glc Pt3glc Mv3glc 1.0 14 300 20 000 15 100 13 000 21 300 23 400 2.4 11 600 18 400 13 000 10 900 18 400 20 500 3.1 8600 14 600 10 000 8400 13 900 14 000 4.0 3900 6800 4500 3600 5900 5900 5.0 1500 1600 1600 1300 1500 1800 6.0 1300 2000 1500 2600 4600 1300 6,5 1700 4200 2400 3200 5500 2700 7.0 4700 7000 5200 5700 7300 8400 7.3 5300 8400 6300 6200 8800 10 200 7.7 6400 10 700 8300 5600 11 500 13 200 8.1 7300 12 500 10 200 4500 13 400 16 400 8.6 8400 10 100 10 500 5400 10 200 19 500 9.0 9500 10 500 11 500 7800 10 300 22 000 9.5 8800 11 900 12 400 2800 10 300 13 000 9.8 8500 11 100 12 400 9800 13 000 10.6 6600 7100 9600 10 500 11.5 1100 (Fossen et al., 1998) and petunidin 3-O-b-glucoside, shows that a complex anthocyanin, like petanin, has much higher colour intensity than anthocyanidin 3- monoglucosides in solutions with ph between 6.0 and 8.6. 3.3. Anthocyanin stability on storage at 10 and 23 C, ph 1±12 All examined anthocyanins showed stability above 70% after 60 days at ph 1±3 and 10 C, and lower stability values at higher ph values (Table 4). After 8 days of storage it was found that stability decreased rapidly as ph increased toward ph 5±6. However, the stability of some anthocyanins improved as ph increased into the alkaline region, and local stability maxima were achieved around ph 8±9 (Fig. 4). Anthocyanins, such as pg3glc, pn3glc and mv3glc (Group 1), displayed 30± 60% stability after 8 days at these ph values, and mv3glc and pg3glc kept 21±37% of their initial absorbance after 15 days storage. Dp3glc and pt3glc behaved quite di erently under similar conditions (8 days storage at 10 C). In the ph 5±7 range, they exhibited higher stability than anthocyanin 3-glucosides belonging to Group 1 (Fig. 4). In fact, these anthocyanins are the only ones showing some degree of stability in this ph range, although the corresponding colour intensities are modest. On the other hand, they are very unstable at nearly all alkaline values (Table 4). At ph 6±7, dp3glc and pt3glc formed purplish precipitates, which were suspended upon shaking. From a structural point of view, it seems that the presence of only one free hydroxyl group in the B-ring Fig. 3. Absorptivities relating to ph 1 values for the chloride salts of the six common anthocyanidin 3-glucosides (1.0 10 4 M) 1 h after dissolution in bu ered aqueous solutions at room temperature. Fig. 4. Percentages of remaining absorbance (measured at l vis-max ) after 8 days of storage at 10 C in bu ered aqueous solutions at di erent ph values, for the chloride salts of the six common anthocyanidin 3-glucosides (1.0 10 4 M), in the dark and using air atmosphere.

L. Cabrita et al. / Food Chemistry 68 (2000) 101±107 105 Table 4 Absorbances for the chloride salts of the six common anthocyanidin 3-glucosides (1.010 4 M) measured during 60 days of storage at 10 Cin bu ered aqueous solutions from ph 1 to 12, in the dark in air atmosphere 1.0 2.4 3.2 4.0 5.0 6.0 6.5 7.0 7.3 7.7 8.1 8.6 9.0 9.5 9.8 10.6 11.5 pg3glc 0 1.48 1.20 0.89 0.40 0.15 0.13 0.18 0.48 0.55 0.66 0.75 0.87 0.98 0.88 0.85 0.66 0.00 1 1.42 1.04 0.91 0.45 0.11 0.13 0.30 0.52 0.62 0.76 0.88 0.73 0.65 2 1.38 1.02 0.89 0.44 0.12 0.38 0.51 0.68 0.80 0.60 0.49 5 1.36 1.0. 0.90 0.42 0.10 0.38 0.55 0.66 0.37 8 1.36 1.01 0.92 0.43 0.45 0.54 15 1.35 1.02 0.90 0.40 0.36 60 1.31 0.85 0.76 cy3glc 0 2.06 1.90 1.51 0.70 0.17 0.21 0.43 0.72 0.87 1.10 1.29 1.04 1.08 1.23 1.15 0.73 0.00 1 1.91 2.00 1.59 0.78 0.14 0.14 0.12 0.23 0.45 0.69 1.02 0.98 0.95 1.09 0.88 2 2.03 1.87 1.57 0.78 0.13 0.17 0.19 0.31 0.52 0.79 0.87 0.92 0.88 0.65 5 2.07 1.78 1.56 0.77 0.12 0.59 0.56 0.46 8 2.08 1.87 1.65 0.86 0.15 0.60 0.53 15 1.97 1.78 1.54 0.58 60 2.20 1.66 1.35 pn3glc 0 1.56 1.34 1.03 0.46 0.17 0.16 0.25 0.53 0.65 0.86 1.05 1.08 1.19 1.27 1.27 0.99 0.00 1 1.55 1.33 1.03 0.49 0.14 0.37 0.63 0.89 1.00 1.12 1.13 1.13 0.33 2 1.53 1.20 1.04 0.48 0.12 0.46 0.75 0.75 1.01 1.00 0.90 5 1.53 1.16 1.04 0.47 0.13 0.47 0.57 0.76 0.59 0.42 8 1.54 1.16 1.04 0.44 0.33 0.41 0.56 0.33 15 1.55 1.16 1.04 0.45 60 1.57 1.12 1.02 0.21 dp3glc 0 1.33 1.13 0.87 0.37 0.13 0.27 0.33 0.59 0.64 0.58 0.46 0.56 0.80 0.30 0.00 0.00 0.00 1 1.24 1.09 0.90 0.41 0.09 0.18 0.26 0.36 0.41 0.31 0.28 0.47 0.66 2 1.25 1.04 0.86 0.42 0.10 0.30 0.25 0.32 0.29 0.22 0.24 0.40 0.47 5 1.28 1.01 0.88 0.40 0.09 0.27 0.22 0.24 0.27 0.27 8 1.25 0.99 0.86 0.38 0.09 0.25 0.23 0.22 0.26 15 1.26 0.97 0.85 0.35 0.23 0.20 0.20 0.24 60 1.26 0.87 0.76 0.16 pt3glc 0 2.19 1.90 1.43 0.60 0.15 0.47 0.57 0.75 0.91 1.19 1.38 1.05 1.06 1.06 1.01 0.00 0.00 1 2.23 1.92 1.48 0.66 0.17 0.46 0.43 0.51 0.51 0.69 0.85 0.90 1.17 0.85 0.69 2 2.12 1.82 1.51 0.68 0.19 0.45 0.40 0.43 0.40 0.39 0.41 0.73 0.77 0.40 0.32 5 2.11 1.77 1.53 0.65 0.18 0.45 0.39 0.35 0.31 0.46 0.48 8 2.11 1.75 1.52 0.60 0.18 0.42 0.35 0.28 15 2.11 1.74 1.48 0.51 0.32 60 2.11 1.60 1.34 mv3glc 0 2.42 2.12 1.44 0.61 0.19 0.13 0.28 0.87 1.05 1.36 1.69 2.01 2.27 1.46 1.45 1.18 0.13 1 2.36 1.77 1.66 0.65 0.15 0.28 0.47 0.83 1.21 1.70 2.10 1.22 1.20 0.72 2 2.38 1.68 1.59 0.63 0.15 0.53 0.87 1.41 1.89 0.89 1.00 0.33 5 2.37 1.68 1.63 0.65 0.18 0.30 0.53 1.01 1.50 0.72 0.55 8 2.38 1.66 1.61 0.64 0.15 0.35 0.73 1.18 0.47 0.32 15 2.38 1.67 1.63 0.63 0.14 0.42 0.71 0.18 0.12 60 2.39 1.64 1.59 0.53 0.14 of the anthocyanin (Group 1) seems to favour the stability of the bluish equilibrium forms occurring at alkaline ph values, which is further enhanced by the presence of additional methoxyl groups. Such is not the case for anthocyanins containing three oxygen functions (methoxyl or hydroxyl) in the aglycone B-ring, where two hydroxyl groups are in ortho position to each other. Cy3glc, which also shares the ortho-hydroxyl feature, seems, however, to have a stability behaviour more closely related to those anthocyanins belonging to Group 1 (Table 4). After 8 days of storage at 23 C, the dependence of colour stability on ph followed the same pattern as observed at 10 C, but the corresponding stability values were lower (Table 5). Between ph 1.0 and 2.4 all anthocyanins could endure a 60 day storage and showed

106 L. Cabrita et al. / Food Chemistry 68 (2000) 101±107 Table 5 Absorbances for the chloride salts of the six common anthocyanidin 3-glucosides (1.010 4 M) measured during 60 days of storage at 23 Cin bu ered aqueous solutions between ph 1 and 12, in the dark in air atmosphere 1.0 2.4 3.1 4.0 5.0 6.0 6.5 7.0 7.3 7.7 8.1 8.6 9.0 9.5 9.8 10.6 11.5 pg3glc 0 1.48 1.20 0.89 0.40 0.15 0.13 0.18 0.48 0.55 0.66 0.75 0.87 0.98 0.88 0.85 0.66 0.00 1 1.37 1.14 0.87 0.37 0.13 0.14 0.39 0.52 0.61 2 1.26 1.13 0.87 0.37 0.32 0.39 5 1.32 1.12 0.83 0.29 8 1.32 1.11 0.78 0.20 15 1.32 1.00 0.56 60 1.27 1.01 cy3glc 0 2.06 1.90 1.51 0.70 0.17 0.21 0.43 0.72 0.87 1.10 1.29 1.04 1.08 1.23 1.15 0.73 0.00 1 2.18 1.86 1.48 0.68 0.16 0.15 0.22 0.21 0.26 0.41 0.73 0.77 0.80 0.49 2 2.07 1.87 1.48 0.67 0.15 0.14 0.22 0.46 0.59 0.60 5 2.02 1.86 1.45 0.60 8 2.01 1.82 1.42 0.48 15 2.02 1.82 1.37 0.36 60 1.90 1.52 0.83 pn3glc 0 1.56 1.34 1.03 0.46 0.17 0.16 0.25 0.53 0.65 0.86 1.05 1.08 1.19 1.27 1.27 0.99 0.00 1 1.56 1.34 1.00 0.45 0.17 0.33 0.52 0.69 0.73 0.64 0.44 2 1.55 1.33 1.01 0.46 0.14 0.29 0.54 0.45 0.31 5 1.54 1.33 1.01 0.44 0.24 8 1.56 1.32 0.99 0.38 15 1.52 1.30 0.96 0.21 60 1.47 1.23 0.39 dp3glc 0 1.33 1.13 0.87 0.37 0.13 0.27 0.33 0.59 0.64 0.58 0.46 0.56 0.80 0.30 0.00 0.00 0.00 1 1.32 1.10 0.83 0.35 0.11 0.18 0.22 0.25 0.25 2 1.30 1.09 0.82 0.32 0.13 0.18 0.19 0.21 0.22 5 1.28 1.04 0.75 0.25 0.19 8 1.27 1.01 0.69 0.20 15 1.24 0.94 0.56 60 0.99 0.46 0.19 pt3glc 0 2.19 1.90 1.43 0.60 0.15 0.47 0.57 0.75 0.91 1.19 1.38 1.05 1.06 1.12 1.07 0.00 0.00 1 2.15 1.86 1.38 0.58 0.16 0.21 2 2.12 1.84 1.37 0.56 0.15 5 2.08 1.81 1.34 0.51 8 2.08 1.77 1.25 0.35 15 2.02 1.66 1.10 60 1.84 1.19 0.35 mv3glc 0 2.42 2.12 1.44 0.61 0.19 0.13 0.28 0.87 1.05 1.36 1.69 2.01 1.27 1.46 1.45 1.18 0.13 1 2.41 2.10 1.40 0.61 0.16 0.38 0.66 1.00 1.43 0.77 0.57 2 2.39 2.10 1.38 0.57 0.17 0.34 0.56 0.86 0.43 0.27 5 2.41 2.08 1.37 0.51 0.16 0.24 0.36 8 2.37 2.06 1.33 0.42 0.17 15 2.35 2.03 1.22 0.27 60 2.20 1.78 0.55 above 40% colour. Then stability became minimum from ph 6.0 to 7.7, and again local maxima stabilities were achieved around ph 8±9 but at more modest values than at 10 C. At these alkaline values, some pn3glc and mv3glc (12±22%) withstood 5 days storage; more pg3glc and cy3glc (28±57%) remained after 2 days, while all dp3glc and pt3glc degraded within 1 h. 4. Conclusions The colours, intensity and stability of the six common anthocyanidin 3-glucosides changed signi cantly in the ph 1±12 range. In relatively strong acidic aqueous solutions (ph 1±3), all the anthocyanin 3-glucosides occurred in the most intense reddish colours, typical for

L. Cabrita et al. / Food Chemistry 68 (2000) 101±107 107 their avylium forms, and were very stable even after 60 days of storage at 10 C. Anthocyanin stability and colour intensity then decreased towards neutrality (ph 5± 7), while there was a gradual bathochromic shift to more bluish colours. It was in the alkaline region that anthocyanin properties became more distinguishable. The 3-glucosides of pelargonidin, peonidin and malvidin (Group 1) a orded bluish-coloured solutions with intensity and stability maxima around ph 8±9. As a commom structural feature, these anthocyanins contain only one free hydroxyl moiety in the aglycone B-ring. The 3-glucosides of cyanidin, delphinidin and petunidin (Group 2) contain ortho-hydroxyl groups in the B-ring. These latter pigments exhibited a notable hypsochromic e ect above ph 8.1, when their bluish equilibrium forms were converted into more reddish ones. Dp3glc and pt3glc were very unstable in alkaline media, however, they showed some stability in the ph 5±7 range. The stability of cy3glc under alkaline conditions was similar to that of Group 1 anthocyanins. It should be kept in mind that other factors not directly addressed in this study (bu er composition, concentration, etc.) may in uence the ph-dependency of colours and stability of pure anthocyanins in aqueous media. Acknowledgements LC is grateful to FCT (FunacË aä o para a Cieà ncia e Tecnologia, Portugal) for a doctoral scholarship PRAXIS XXI. TF thanks the Norwegian Research Council for his scholarship. References Andersen, é. M. (in press) Anthocyanins. In Encyclopedia of life sciences. MacMillan. Brouillard, R. (1988). Flavonoids and ower colour. In J. B. Harborne, The avonoids. Advances in research since 1980 (p. 525). London: Chapman and Hall. Cabrita, L. & Andersen, é. M. (in press). Anthocyanins in blue berries of Vaccinium padifolium. Phytochemistry. Fossen, T., Cabrita, L., & Andersen, é. M. (1998). Colour and stability of pure anthocyanins in uenced by ph including the alkaline region. Food Chemistry, 63, 435±440. Francis, F. J. (1989). Anthocyanins. Critical Reviews of Food Science and Nutrition, 28, 273±314. Harborne, J. B. (1993). Comparative biochemistry of the avonoids. London: Academic Press. Mazza, G., & Miniati, E. (1993). Anthocyanins in fruits, vegetables and grains. London: CRC Press. Torskangerpoll, K., Bùrve, K. J., Andersen, é. M., & Sñthre, L. (1998). Color substitution pattern in anthocyanidins, a combined quantum chemical±chemometrical study. Spectrochimica Acta A, 55, 761±771.